Machine fob making hook-headed spikes



J. H. SNYDER.

I Spike Machine. No. 9,714. Patented May 10, 1853.

2" SheetsSheet 1.

I 2 SheetS-Sheet 2. J. H. SNYDER. Spike Machine.

- Patented May 10, I853.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. SNYDER, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR MAKING HOOK-HEADED SPIKES.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 9,714, dated May 10, 1853. c

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. SNYDER, of Troy, New York, have invented anew and useful Machine for Making Hook-Headed Spikes, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, inwhich- Figure 1, is a plan of the machine with the top plate removed.Fig. 2, a front elevation; Fig. 3, a vertical section taken at the linea a, Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5, elevations of the pairs of dies with thespike in two different stages of progress; Fig. 6, an elevation of thedies with the fixed heading lips, and with part of the former diesmovable.

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures.

In my said machine, the spikes are formed from rods of iron previouslyrolled to the required size, that is to a size equal in width to theintended width of the spike, and a little greater in thickness than theintended spike, and these are cut in the machine of appropriate lengthsand presented to rotating dies by which they are rolled from the pointtoward the head to force the surplus metal to the end where the head isformed, that in swaging the head the metal may not be strained andweakened at the knuckle, where great strength is required. The metal isprevented from spreading laterally along the shank by making the rollingface of each die with a side flanch to overlap that edge of the otherdie which has no fianch.

The first part ofmy invention consists in making the face of one die,which I call the former, the reverse of the form of one face of a wedgepointed spike, that it may fit thereon when completed, and the face ofthe other die to correspond, in the rotation, with the other face of thespike, so that the spike shall be delivered from the machine in astraight form, instead of being frequently bent as would be the case ifheld only at opposite points by the two dies.

The second part of my invention consists in forming hook heads on spikesby rolling between dies from the point toward the head to force andaccumulate the surplus metal at the end where the head is formed, andthen bending and giving the required form to the head by a projectinglip on one of the dies, which by reason of its greater radius, will, inthe rotation, bend over the metal and give the required form to the headwithout injuriously straining the iron, the accumulation at this end informing the shank avoiding all undue strain, and hence leaving therequired strength in the knuckle. The third part of my inventionconsists in making the projecting lip, for bending over and forming thehead on the spike,

movable radially in the die or stock of the die, so that in theoperation of rolling after the said lip comes in contact with the endincreasing diameter of the opposite die, thus forming the head all onone side of the shank, the continued rotation of the dies and thegreater radius of the heading lip having the effect gradually to flattenthe projecting part of the head.

The fourth part of my invention consists in cutting off the requiredlengths from a rod fed in against a gage plate, by means of a slidingcutter, which, after cutting off the piece, carries it to its properposition before the rotating dies, and then returns to cut off anotherlength and present it to a corresponding set of dies on the other side.And Ethe last part of my invention consists in combining with therotating dies and sliding cutter and carrier, a slide or slides operated by a positive motion to force the rod in the bite of the dies atthe appropriate time to insure the proper position of the rod in ;thedies, and thus insure the required quantity of metal for forming thehead.

In the accompanying drawings a, repre sents the frame and b, 0, twohorizontal parallel shafts which carry the rotating dies to be hereafterdescribed. These two shafts are geared together by cog wheels d, cl, ande, e, at each end, and of equal diameter so that they shall rotate inopposite directions, and with equal velocities. They derive motion fromsome suitable driving power.

In front of the machine there is a plate f,

with a hole 9, of the size of the rod from which the spikes are to bemade, so that the rod can be fed in by an attendant through the saidhole, until the end strikes against the face of a gage plate h, whichdetermines the length to be cut off at each operation for one spike.This gage plate should be made to leftand left to right, twice.

adjustable. The sides of the feed hole 9, are lined with steel orotherwise formed to constitute permanent shears to cut off the lengthsrequired by means of a movable cutter 6, attached to a sliding plate 7',which moves horizontally in appropriate ways in the frame, the endsbeing properly rounded or formed to be acted upon by two cams is, is,one at each end of the shaft 0, so that at every rotation of this shaftthe slide, with the cutter attached, reciprocates from right When themovable cutter is on one side the rod is fed in, and then the cuttermoves to the opposite side, which cuts off one length, and carries it toone set of rotating dies-to be presently described-the rod is then againfed in, and on the return motion another length is cut OE and carried tothe other set of rotating dies on the other side, and so on, fourlengths being cut oif for each complete revolution, there being two setsof dies on each side.

On each side of the feed hole there is a slide Z, which moves at rightangles to the slide of the movable cutter; it is drawn inward by a camm, on the shaft 0,.and, when liberated by the cam, drawn back by aspring n, or by a weight, as the equivalent thereof.

Each slide has a shoulder which bears against the end of the length ofrod after it has been cut and carried by the movable cutter, and movesitinward until it is caught by the rotating dies, and then the slidemoves back to receive another. The side of this slide guides the rod soas to present it to the dies in a proper direction, and at the propertime. In this way the'lengths of rod are cut ofl, carried right andleft, and moved inward to be caught by the rotating dies at the propertime.

There are four rotating forming dies 0, 0,

' 0, 0, and four working dies 77, p, p, 7), making four pairs, let intorecesses in and secured to four wheels 9, g, 1" 7' two on the main shaft7), and the other two on the other shaft 0. As all the four pairs ofdies are alike the description of one pair will be sufficient tounderstand the drawings which represent four.

Each pair of dies consists of what I call a former 0, on a wheel 9, ofthe shaft 2), and a r worker 79, on a wheel 1", of the shaft 0.

The former 0, is a section of steel or chilled cast iron, with the faceequal in thickness to the breadth of the intended spike, and a littlelonger. It has a projecting flange s, on one side which overlaps oneside of the other die, or worker, to prevent the rod from spreading outlaterally on that side, and in like manner the worker has a like flanges, which overlaps the other side of the former for the same purpose, sothat the rod can only spread to the extent of the space between thefaces of the former and worker and all beyond that must be forced in thedirection of the length of the rod.

From the point 1, to 2, in the direction of the arrowsee Figs. 4 and5-the face of the former is concentric. From 2, to 3, it runs inslightly toward the axis in nearly a straight or tangent line, and from3 to 4, it runs in a straight line and at an angle with the sect-ionfrom 2 to 3, so that it shall be in form the reverse of one side of aspike from point to head as shown in'Figs. 4 and 5. This face is suchthat when a spike lies on it, the outer face of the spike shall benearly concentric. The face t, of the worker 79, is such that assuming aformed spike to be in place and fitting on the face of the former, andthe two dies to be set in motion every part of the outer surface of thespike will be touched by the face of the worker, from'one end tothe'other. As the spike, when formed, lies on, and ltouches every partof the face of the former, and from the point of the spike toward thehead every part of the surface of the worker is of greater radius thanthe former,

and therefore traveling faster, it will follow that the spikes formed bybeing rolled fbetween them will be formed and delivered ,straight,instead of being bent as would often be the case if the inequality inthe ithickness of the spike was equally divided g-between the two dies,and the two faces Eonly touched the spike at two opposite points andmoved with equal velocities. iAs the face of the worker travels faster*Emore of a drawing action on the rod, the jmain object of which is togather and acicumulate the surplus metal toward the end ffwhere theknuckle of the head is to be Zformed, so that the head may be bent overfwithout injuriously straining and weakening the iron where strength isrequired. At 'fthe point 4, the former is cut away to make recess u, theface of which, next the rolliing face, is made in form the reverse ofthe ,under part of the head of the intended Espike.

, The general form of the face of the worker p has already beendescribed.

As the spike, when being formed, lies 1(until discharged) on the face ofthe former, and the outer face of the shank of the spike represents atangent line, the face 50f the worker toward the end gradually lruns intoward the axis, thus gradually losing the preponderance of radius whichit had, so that it ceases to draw the iron more than the other die,after having accumulated the surplus where the knuckle or head of the:than the face of the former, it will have' and just at the end of thesaid die. The face of this lip is in form nearly the reverse of the headof a spike.

After the dies have rotated to a sufficient extent to have nearlycompleted the shank of the spike, the lip w, or face of the bar 00,comes in contact with that end of the rod which is to form the head, andholds it, so that for a short distance it moves in a line concentricwith the axis of the worker die, and at the same time the shank of thespike is carried toward the axis of the worker die, and from the axis ofthe former die, by reason of the gradually decreasing diameter of theone and the increasing diameter of the other. This bends over the headof the spike, which is finished by the face of the heading bar or lip,which, being of greater radius than that part of the former die in whichthe head is formed, has a rolling action to complete the bending of thehead, and giving the required form thereto. After the dies have ceasedto grip the spike the continued rotation causes the lip or face of theheading bar to throw the spike out of the former die.

As there are two sets of dies on each wheel the bar 00, extends entirelythrough so that its opposite end is formed in like manner, and bears thesame relation to the other pair of dies and performs the same operationas the end first above described.

During the operation the bar slides in its mortise in the wheel, andbefore one end begins to act on a spike it is pushed out to the requireddistance by means of a face y, on the back of the machine against whichthe opposite end of the bar strikes in the rotation.

The moment a spike has been formed and delivered another is presented tothe bite of the dies to repeat the operation.

If desired, the sliding bar at, can be depensed with, by making the lip10, for bending and shaping the outer surface of the head, by apermanent projection on the end of the worker die, but I prefer to usethe sliding bar as a more perfect form can be given to the head of thespike, and I would further state that I have contemplted the making ofthat part of the former die in which the under face of the head isshaped, in the end of a sliding bar adapted to slide in a mortise in thewheel which carries the formes dies. The bar being made of sufficientlength to pass entirely through, so that the one bar will answer the twosets of former dies. When thus made movable the bar should have two studor wrist pins projecting from its face one near each end, and adapted towork in a cam groove connected with the frame and so situated that themoment the head has been formed on a spike, the bar shall be drawninward to leave the spike and permit the heading lip to pass around.This movable bar I prefer to use when I dispense with the slidingheading bar so, and use the permanet heading lip, although, if desired,the two sliding bars can be used in connection, in one and the samemachine.

Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patentis 1. Rolling wedge pointed spikes between rotating dies so formed, thatthe face of one shall be the reverse of one face of the spike whenformed, and the face of the other die to correspond, in the rotation,with the other face of the spike, substantially as specified.

2. I also claim forming hook heads on spikes by rolling from the pointtoward the head, to force the surplus metal toward the head, and thenbending and giving the form required by a lip on one of the diesprojecting beyond its face, so that it shall have an increased motion byreason of its greater radius to give the required form, substan- "tiallyas specified.

3. I also claim in combination with the dies for rolling the shank ofthe spike, making the heading lip for forming the head,

movable, by forming the said lip on the end of a bar adapted to slide inthe stock of the die, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. I also claim in combination with the rotating dies, the employment ofthe slidingcutter and carrier, substantially as specified, for cuttingfrom a rod, the required lengths of rod, and carrying them to therotating dies, substantially as specified.

5. And finally I claim in combination with the rotating dies, the slidesfor presenting and forcing the ends of the rod into the rotating dies,to insure the proper position of the rod in the dies, substantially asspeclfied, for if the rod be not gripped by the dies at the proper time,there will be .either too much or too little metal for the forming ofthe head.

JOHN H. SNYDER.

WVitnesses:

WM. W. BISHOP, ALEX. PORTER BROWNE.

